For several years I’ve employed the concept of a “Black Box” to analyze theological systems. This concept has its roots in my being perplexed at the multitude of Christian theological systems. In the area of western evangelical Christianity alone there is a wide variety of denominations and theological standpoints.[1] My perplexity stemmed from the fact that all the different viewpoints claimed superiority over the others because they were the ones who interpreted the Bible correctly.[2] My initial interest in theological studies was to learn enough about the Bible and its interpretation so as to once and for all solve the issue as to who was really interpreting correctly. (More on this quest can be found here, Why I’m studying theological hermeneutics.)
As my theological studies progressed I noticed that many of the proponents for positions with which I disagreed were not always the result of “evil” motivations or bad scholarship but were the result of differing approaches and emphases in interpretation. Many of these differences were often rooted in worldviews, cultures and traditions which approached the Bible differently.
At some point it dawned on me that the solution to theological variety (which I viewed negatively) must be in the arena of interpretation. If the hermeneutic approach is identical than the theological views that arise from it should be identical. Because of my background in computer programming I was familiar with the concept of the black-box. That is, a differentiation between data and the processing of that data. The same set of data will produce different results depending on the processing that takes place in the black-box. It seemed to be a natural analogy to view the Biblical texts as data and the hermeneutic employed to interpret them as the processing. 
The goal of the Orthotomeo project is to view theology from this perspective. By separating theological argumentation into the two primary components of statements and interpretations (applications) it will enable detailed inquiry into the use of interpretation. It will allow the user to pinpoint exactly how and where theological differences arise and among other things provide a means for validating consistency in theological interpretation.
Good stuff, Andy. It’s healthy for anyone to line out WHY they believe something means what they believe, not just point to verses and say “d’uh, this verse obviously means that”.
BTW you mean “Black Box” not “Back Box” in that picture.
Exactly, but this is only the beginning of the potential of this project. Thanks for the heads up on the image.